Stripes and then no stripes, what's going on?

[Soren]

Private Bell 15386 West Yorks (10th Bn) MPD Arras 23/04/1917

This is odd, he is listed as a Private yet in one of these pictures Private Bell has stripes? any ideas Guys?

Here he is

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/passchendael...652364598365538

[truthergw]

Hi Soren. Nothing unusual here. Plenty of corporals lost their stripes, some more than once.

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Soren

He looks to have a single stripe, for a lance-corporal. This was strictly an appointment and not a rank during the Great War, and CWGC and other records are not entirely consistent on what they show.

A single stripe could be removed by a man's CO: two or more required a court-martial to remove them. It did not have to be a particularly serious offence, but could be one making it unwise to leave the NCO in command of others.

Ron

[Soren]

Cheers Ron / Tom

Much appreciated!

Soren

[Nigel Marshall]

Hi Soren,

This is a different situation because my granddad was a survivor, but, on his medal index card he is listed as a Pte, yet on his service papers he has the rank of full Corporal. This is because he was only promoted once he had been gassed and sent to the reserve battalion in Ireland. The MIC only gives the highest rank he attained in a theatre of war.

I would suggest your man had been deprived of his rank for some military offence. I would also suggest that rather than a single lance corporal's chevron, there is actually two for a full corporal. He also has a proficiency badge above his rank, which I can't properly make out, but I'm leaning towards crossed swords for PT instructor (or assistant, given his rank). I also notice that he is wearing a button cloth on the group photo, which would suggest that he was not the only one from his family to end up dead because of the war.

Is that an Artillery badge in the first photo?

Cheers,

Nigel